Provenance

Bequeathed by the artist in 1816 to James White of Exeter (1744–1825), on whose death it passed to Towne’s residuary legatee John Herman Merivale (1779–1844) and his successors. Merivale’s granddaughters Maria Sophia Merivale (1853–1928) and Judith Ann Merivale (1860–1945), both of Oxford, inherited the drawing in May 1915 (BP142) and gave it in the same year to Paul Oppé (1878–1957; no.897, which gives the year as 1919), whose descendants sold it in 1996 with the rest of Oppé’s collection to the current owner, the Tate Gallery (T08262). The name “Rose Merivale” is written on the back of the drawing. As it was given to Oppé as early as 1915, it is more likely that this refers to John Herman Merivale’s daughter Rose Mary Merivale (1823–1902) than his great-granddaughter Rosamund MacBrien (née Merivale), then only two or three years old.